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THE seed
industry has vowed to increase its production as the
National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and
the Dioscoro Umali Foundation Inc. laid down its road
map to 2020 for the “velero” industry.
Velero
stands for vegetables, legumes and root crops.
“Of
course, we will support the velero road map, which has
an ultimate goal of poverty alleviation, food security,
competitiveness, sustainability, justice and peace,”
says Renato Mabesa, executive director of Philippine
Seed Industry Association Inc., at a recent forum held
by the NAST.
There
will absolutely be an expansion of the private seed
industry aggressively marketing hybrid seed, he said.
Mabesa
didn’t elaborate about the increase of seed production.
The seed group is composed of over 20 members spread all
over the Philippines.
The road
map of the velero industry is aimed at increasing
vegetable production and consumption, enhancing access
to safe and high-quality vegetables and improving
efficiency of vegetable production.
The NAST
and the Dioscoro L. Umali Foundation have envisioned to
promote home, school and community gardens to reach
their goals.
“This
will enhance the present consumption of velero through
these vehicles,” says Ruben Villareal, an academician
and a plant breeder. This goal will require P150 million
in a span of five years, or P30 million a year.
Of the
daily food consumption of Filipinos, 12.5 percent is
attributed to vegetables, 1.1 percent to legumes, 2.2
percent to root crops and 41 percent to cereals.
To
fulfill the objectives of the velero road map, the NAST
and the Umali Foundation also emphasized that there is a
need to intensify peanut and mungbean production in
rotation with rice and corn. This will need P217.5
million for five years.
The
University of the Philippines in Los Bańos, Laguna,
Isabela State University and Central Mindanao University
currently have their crop-improvement facilities. There
are 15 more sites for cropping system throughout the
country.
Pests
are obviously the main woes of farmers. Therefore,
another means to achieve the goal before 2020 is to have
an integrated pest-management system across the nation.
This will involve P100 million in five years.
Industry
data showed that pesticide usage is prevalent in tomato,
eggplant, peanut, mung bean and sweet potato.
The NAST
and the D.L. Umali Foundation have also envisioned to
develop bioinculants or biofertilizers for velero and
upland crops. This will entail P137 million for five
years, or P45 million for the first year and P23 million
for the succeeding years.
The
World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended a
minimum intake of 200 grams of vegetables a day—aside
from the 200 grams
needed consumption of fruits.
In Asia,
only China surpassed the needed consumption of
vegetables on a per-day basis.
Villareal said the low consumption of vegetables in the
Philippines is due to their low supply, poor
profitability and the bloating population of the
country.
“Losses
are due to pests, since we now have a low level in
supply of fertilizer,” he said, adding acceptability of
eating vegetables in the country has continued to wane
because of pesticide residues.
Apart
from the country’s decreasing per capita consumption, he
said the Philippines has poor profitability of
vegetables compared with other Asian countries—like
Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam—because of high
transportation costs.
From
1978 to 1993, there was a downslope of consumption of
vegetables in every Filipino from 140 grams down to 100
grams a day. From 1993, the uphill climb started to be
apparent, moving to a little bit over the 100-gram mark
in 2003.
The
Ilocos region, Cordillera Autonomous Region, Southern
Tagalog, Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, Bicol
region, Metro Manila, Western Visayas and Western
Mindanao are on track toward fulfilling the minimum
requirements of the WHO in vegetable intake. |
